PRINCETON, N.J., Aug. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- inVentiv Health Clinical, a leading global supplier of drug development services, today announced the appointment of a President of Phase II-IV Development, Chief Medical Officer, and Chief Financial Officer to strengthen the leadership team overseeing significant business growth.

The expansion of the Executive Leadership Team represents an important investment in the future of inVentiv Health Clinical, already considered a Top 5 Global CRO. Dawn Anderson joins inVentiv Clinical as President, Phase II-IV Development, Martin Birkhofer, M.D. assumes the newly created position of Chief Medical Officer, and Richard Shimota becomes Chief Financial Officer.

The additional of the senior talent was fueled by significant new wins in all areas of the clinical business, including Early Stage, Phase II-IV and Strategic Resourcing.

"With the addition of three such seasoned executives, we are strengthening our leadership team with a Medical Officer steeped in industry knowledge, a skilled CFO with a background in project-based businesses, and a strong leader for Phase II-IV who has deep clinical development experience," said Raymond Hill, President of inVentiv Health Clinical. "I am confident that they will help guide our organization along the successful path we've followed since the start of the year through to our next stage of growth."

Anderson, Birkhofer, and Shimota will serve on the Executive Leadership Team, reporting to Hill.

Dawn Anderson, President Phase II-IV

Anderson joins inVentiv Health Clinical with broad experience in clinical and drug development and extensive operational expertise. With more than 20 years in the clinical field across various management positions, she most recently served as Cognizant's Global Head of Clinical Operations and Transformation. While there, she built the business from start to a thriving global organization. Her experience includes leadership roles across clinical development and operations, portfolio and program management, and process optimization at pharmaceutical and biotech companies, start-ups and CROs. Prior to Cognizant, Anderson held a number of senior roles at Quintiles, including VP of Global Clinical Operations, and VP of Internal Medicine.

Martin Birkhofer, M.D., Chief Medical Officer

In the newly created role, Dr. Birkhofer, a medical oncologist by training, will oversee strategic investment in areas that expand upon inVentiv Health Clinical's world-class capabilities. He will advise the business on industry trends and issues and build relationships with Chief Medical Officers and senior executives within client organizations.

A 19-year veteran of Bristol-Myers Squibb, Dr. Birkhofer most recently served as Vice President, Business Development, leading global search, evaluation, and diligence for worldwide business development. Dr. Birkhofer previously managed Global Medical Affairs for oncology. He led the development team responsible for the U.S. registration, launch and life cycle management of Erbitux® in colorectal cancer, as well as head and neck tumors. Earlier in his career, he was responsible for the BMS Oncology Clinical Research team in Europe and the Clinical Pharmacology team supporting the oncology, immunology and anti-infective pipeline.

Richard Shimota, Chief Financial Officer

Shimota's unique combination of financial acumen and deep experience in project management for the engineering and construction sector business will be invaluable to inVentiv Health Clinical which also works on a project basis.

Shimota brings nearly 30 years of professional experience in operational finance roles of increasing responsibility to inVentiv Health Clinical. Most recently, he served as CFO of Shaw Power, a division of The Shaw Group, Inc.

About inVentiv Health Clinical

inVentiv Health Clinical is a leading provider of global drug development services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, generic drug, and medical device companies, offering therapeutically specialized capabilities for Phase I-IV clinical development, bioanalytical services, and strategic resourcing from a single clinical professional to an entire functional team. With 7,000 passionate employees operating in 70 countries, inVentiv Health Clinical works to accelerate high quality drug development programs of all sizes around the world. http://www.inVentivHealthClinical.com

About inVentiv HealthinVentiv Health, Inc. is a leading global provider of best-in-class clinical, commercial and consulting services to companies seeking to accelerate performance. inVentiv offers convergent services that deliver extraordinary outcomes to clients whose goal is improving human life. In 40 countries around the world, inVentiv's 13,000 employees help clients rapidly transform promising ideas into commercial reality. inVentiv clients include more than 550 pharmaceutical, biotech and life sciences companies, as well as companies that now see health as part of their mission. inVentiv Health, Inc. is privately owned by inVentiv Group Holdings, Inc., an organization sponsored by affiliates of Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P., Liberty Lane Partners and members of the inVentiv management team. For more information, visit http://www.inVentivHealth.com.

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